Sunday, September 11, 2011

Theater Whore: Warrior

Due to the anniversary of September 11th 2001 and a generally slow box office this movie will probably not get the praise or box office totals it deserves. Warrior is one of those types of films that come out once in a great while. Luckily The Fighter from last year came out and made boxing movies seem relevant. This one focuses on MMA (mixed martial arts) and I believe that even if you’re not a fan of the sport, fighting movies, or violence that you will still see this movie and like you. Hell, you might even shed a tear or two. There are spoilers below.
The film stars Joel Edgerton (Smokin’ Aces, Stars Wars Episode 3, King Arthur) as Brenden Conlon. He is a school teacher by day and a fighter by night. He keeps this all secret from his wife and two daughters by telling them that the bruises he comes home with are from handling rowdy patrons. He is about to lose his home and even with his day job and the fighting and his wife’s job working at a club they are barely getting by. After being suspended he decides to fight in a world tournament for $5,000,000 which his wife does not agree with.

Tom Hardy (Bronson, RocknRolla, Inception) plays Tommy Conlon. He is a former Marine and current alcoholic and junkie. One day after returning home from seemingly disappearing he trains at a gym where he knocks out one of the best fighters in the world in less than thirty seconds.

Their father is played by Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda, 48 Hours, Tropic Thunder) who is a recovering alcoholic who is looking for forgiveness from his sons. When he meets Tommy after years of not knowing where he was their conversation is very intense. It feels like you almost should not be hearing it its so uncomfortable.Tommy tells him that he wants him to train him (his father is his former wrestling coach).

The fighting in this film is very realistic. During the tournament Tommy knocks out multiple opponents in a few seconds before leaving the cage and heading back to his dressing room ignoring all interviews and fans. Brenden is considered an underdog and washed up but manages to continue winning by sheer toughness. Just like in real MMA fights some of them last rounds and others last moments. Former WWE Champion and current Impact! (formerly TNA) wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle has a great role as Koba, a Russian fighter who is considered the best in the world. Yeah, let the Rocky 4 comparisons begin…

The brothers do not get along and have not spoken in years so you know when they finally get in the cage against each other there will be no holding back. Their fight is brutal. Each of them is fighting for a different reason one no less noble than the other. There is nothing like hearing the sound of a shoulder being separated in surround sound I’ll tell you what.

This was a far better and emotion driven movie than I was expecting it to be. Many times I was on the edge of my seat and cheering. Nick Nolte put in an amazing performance and I would be shocked if he didn’t get a nomination for many awards. Tom Hardy is officially the man. His ability to give “dead eyes” is haunting and when he fought I waited for someone to die. Joel Edgerton was great and you got to like him so much that you cheer for him throughout the movie. See this if you can. You will not be disappointed.